I CAN'T DEAL WITH DALOT ANYMOREEEEE!!!!!
Unbeknownst to us, the left wing-back position has become more of a problem than midfield. Who would've thought that at the start of the season, eh?
But at least with Casemiro and Bruno, they have performed at a level that is acceptable even if it's not the level we truly desire. Yet when it comes to left wing-back, no one and I mean no one has shown any signs of being him for that position.
I did speak about how I didn't really understand why wing-back wasn't a priority position to strengthen in during the transfer window considering it's importance to this 3-4-3 formation, and I feel like now we're seeing just how foolish it was to neglect those positions.
Amad has done well at right wing-back but as we saw against Forest, he does have his weaknesses. As he isn't the best defensively nor the biggest, teams will look to target him at the back post. That ended up costing us a goal and will probably cost us more in the future.
However, he does offer quite a lot going forward (what a goal that was 👌🔥) and has developed a strong partnership with Mbeumo down that right flank. Amorim also seems to be a big admirer of Amad's which works in his favour as well.
But on the opposite flank, I feel we are a bit cooked.
Let's get the elephant out of the room:
Diogo Dalot.
I like Dalot, he comes across as a top guy and is the ultimate professional, he carries himself well, does what needs to be done, shows the right attitude, doesn't get involved in too much off the field antics, and works so incredibly hard but,
he's kinda shite at football.
He's another example of how we seem to have these players who have a great attitude but poor quality or sometimes vice-versa. The price of one is the other.
The manager loves Dalot. I think that's plain to see. He's one of a few players who is regularly in the starting lineup (Dalot has started eight of the 11 matches so far. He came off the bench at Fulham and was injured for the other two) which shows Amorim's faith in him.
Dalot has also played as a LWB in five of those games he's featured in while four have come on the other wing. Despite having a fully functioning left-back who's capable of playing as a LWB and a player that Amorim signed besides, the MUFC boss has been reluctant to use Dorgu in that position preferring instead for the out-of-sorts Dalot who is actually out of position as well.
It's confusing to see what Amorim likes in Dalot for him to play him as a LWB or play him at all for that matter. You could say that he has been our worst player this season as even in the recent run of three wins in a row, the 26-year-old has managed to be a standout for crap performances despite everyone playing well.
He really has been carried.
Dalot offers nothing going forward and very little in defense either even though he is by design, a defender.
Amad may be a weakness at the back post because of his size, but it appears Dalot is a weakness at the back post as well because of his lack of concentration. Forest's second goal came because of this and they even hit the post with a header where their player got the jump on Amorim's main man Dalot.
The Portuguese simply CANNOT play!
However, I don't think Dorgu is the answer either.
I'm going to level with you, I don't actually rate him that highly. I don't think he's that good.
I know it's sort of jumping the gun a little early considering he's only 21-years-old and been at the club for nigh on a year, but in that time, while there has been slight improvements, it hasn't been enough to suggest to me that he will be the player we need for that position for years to come.
What I will say is that he has the advantage over Dalot in that he is left-footed which provides that natural balance on the left. This means he doesn't have to cut-in onto his stronger foot or feel awkward to have to use his weak foot. Dorgu is natural for this flank and can put in a cross without thinking twice.
Much like Dalot though, the quality in the final third is absolutely shcoking as both decision-making and ability to create lacks heavily.
He often finds himself in good positions (which is a positive) but then cocks up to a point where you think 'what was the point?'
His deliveries are poor (when he does cross which isn't enough of the time) and like I said, he often makes the wrong choice resulting in a chance disappearing.
I find that the errors he makes are also very simple and that those choices he makes are harder than doing what he should've done.
Ideally, for the Dane, he would benefit from having a senior pro to learn off of instead of being the one relied upon to change our fortunes down the left.
Similarly to the man who's taken his place (Dorgu has started six of the 11 matches but has been on the bench for the last four), he does work hard, gets up and down the pitch relatively well and has the right attitude.
What he also has over Dalot is that he is a new (ish) player whereas the Portuguese has been at United since 2018. People are more patient with a player who's just joined and is 5 years younger than one who's shown very little signs of being a United player in all his 7 years at the club.
But, Dorgu ain't it either.
This is where Luke Shaw comes in.
I know he isn't everyone's cup of tea. He ain't mine either. He chose England over United for the Euros and in a way, is kind of choosing England again. What I mean is that when looking at his recent performances, it's almost as if Shawberto Carlos has been reborn. Is it a coincidence that we're seeing such form from him in a World Cup year?
You could also throw in the fact that Martinez is ready to play. The butcher is a player highly rated by the manager and he'll take Shaw's place in that back three which has perhaps given the Englishman a kick up the backside to pick up his game.
But it need not be all doom and gloom for Shaw. Whether Amorim would use him as a left wing-back remains to be seen but I do think we can use this Shawberto Carlos form to our advantage.
At some point, Shaw will probably break down given his injury history. Since that hasn't happened (yet, hopefully it doesn't at all 🤞), this could be a sign that he is okay, for now. I think playing one game a week and more recovery time has worked in his favour with his availability but we all have this feeling that at some point, he will get injured.
With Martinez's return, he will slot straight back into the defense. It's just a gut feeling considering how much praise he's received from Amorim whilst being injured for 9 months. That position he will takeover will be Shaw's but looking at our left wing-back woes, I believe the no 23 can do a job in that position.
Shaw has the ability to get up and down the pitch as we've seen over the years. I believe he's solid defensively, decent in the air, strong, quicker than you think and in attack, has one hell of a cross on him. Given his left-footedness, he would be a natural down that flank.
We don't put a lot of crosses into the box (5 Things Learned) and is one of the issues we need to address especially with someone the size of Sesko up front. The striker has been starved of chances since arriving at United and one of the ways to change that is with crosses.
Amad is inverted on the right so looks to cut-in onto his stronger left-foot most of the time which removes that crossing ability and also to cross it early which does make a difference.
That won't be a problem with Shaw as again, he's left-footed and feels comfortable on that side.
As Amorim has been chopping and changing Dalot and Dorgu, it tells us that he isn't fully convinced as to who is best for that position. He does have that favoritism towards Dalot, let's not kid ourselves, and this is the reason as to why many of us feel that he selects him over Dorgu despite there being not much to choose between them.
This constant rotation (if you want to call it that) also means that it's difficult to develop a partnership with Cunha who plays as the left-sided no 10. Ideally, we want what we have on the right with Amad and Mbeumo on the left. This partnership has flourished due to the amount of game time this pair has had which has allowed for this connection to develop.
Maybe with someone more settled at LWB, something can occur with them and Cunha?
Shaw could be that player. The pair have already appeared to have developed quite the bond off the field when looking at recent social media posts.
The only issue I see with him as LWB is that it does require a lot of running up and down the pitch. This could see Shaw pick up some sort of muscle injury which rules him out for a period of time. We know his body isn't as strong as it was although after that leg break in 2016, has it ever been?
This constant running could be his undoing and is a fear I have if he were to play in that position.
However, it is something I would at least try because we can't be any worse given what we've had.
So, what do you think? Would you like to see Shaw given a go at left wing-back? Do you think it would work? Do you prefer Dorgu or dare I say it Dalot instead? What are your thoughts?
Luke Shaw | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal